Did you hear the one about the 84-year-old grandma?

Deja vu all over again! (Dubbed Thing One and Thing Two by our mechanic)

Remember the story about our new matching 2003 Buick Century vehicles?   (Are you worried that you’re going to be reading the same blog all over again?)

No worries!  This is Part 2 of our car-buying and car-selling saga.

After I last shared the details of our car-buying expedition last week (click here if you’re not familiar with the story) much happened.

First, Barry wrote a column in our local newspaper sharing the serendipitous story of how we purchased the exact same car.  He wrote much more detail than I did in this blog.  He told about how Grandma bought the 1995 maroon Buick Century when she was 84 years old.  How she drove it oh-so-carefully and parked it nicely in her garage to protect it from salt and slush.  How she barely put any miles on the beauty.  How we inherited it.  How he didn’t like it at first because it looked like a grandma’s car.  (I don’t know if he shared that I refused to speak to him for 200 miles on a trip home from downstate when he announced that, of course, we would not be accepting the car.)

To make a long story short, I drove the car for five years.  Loved every second of it.  Then I bought the 2003 Buick Century and drove it for five years, while Barry inherited the old grandma’s car from me.  He learned to love it.  He learned to adore it. 

Until it died–nicely–in the driveway less than two weeks ago.  We’ve been sniffling and carrying on since the funeral.  He wrote his column explaining this in great detail and then suggested it would make a lovely parts car for someone in our community.

Obviously a car for an 84-year-old grandma

Now comes the part you’ve all been waiting for–the part about the second 84-year-old grandma.  An 84-year-old woman bounded up the steps of the Sentinel yesterday morning before 8 a.m. 

“Which one of you is Barry Drue?”  she asked.

“I want to buy your car,” she said without hesitation.  “I’ve been hoping all night it wouldn’t be sold already!”

An 84-year-old grandma wants to buy our dead 1995 Buick Century?  The one with the inoperative motor?

He looked at her askance.

“Umm…” he said, “I don’t think this is the car for you–”

The 84-year-old grandma set him straight.  She has a matching 1995 Buick (OK, a different color) with a wonderful engine and not-so-wonderful body.  She wanted this car as a parts car. 

She wrote him out a $500 check before he could say anything.  Could he have it delivered to her mechanic?

We haven’t quit shaking our heads about this Part 2 installment since yesterday.  It was my job to deliver the title to the grandma today.  She invited me in the house and…are you ready for this?…proceeded to tell me that she’s been doing yoga every day for 44 years! 

“Really?”  I said, “REALLY?”  (Some of you know that I started doing yoga five days a week about five weeks ago, after taking lessons since last March.)

She then shows me–after a little begging–a Supported Shoulder Stand and a Plow Pose. Please click on these links and see what they are.  Imagine an 84-year-old grandma doing these poses, please.

She then proceeds to sit on the floor in a cross-legged position for the remainder of our talk.

She IS amazing!  I want to be just like her when I grow up, don’t you?

P.S.  the whole time we talked I kept thinking “Oh I want a picture of her so much!  Dare I ask her?  Should I tell her about this blog…?”  But in the end, shyness prevailed.  Sorry!  You can see a photo of my grandma, instead, when she was about 84 years old.  She did not do yoga poses.

Look! An old picture of Grandma I just found.